The basics should be affordable. Yes even eggs.
The basics should be affordable. Yes even eggs.
Not sure where I found this. Maybe here. Well it's here now that's for sure.
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Seriously. I want a world where everyone can have the basics of subsistence without qualifications. UBI is one way to do it, but even direct provision is fine.
Universal healthcare is an obvious one, but for as wealthy as developed countries are, providing basic food and shelter shouldn't be that difficult either. For food and shelter, I think we should just offer anyone that wants it the basics of life.
Every county should have a government depot in it that you can go and get a certain quantity of basic staples per month. Rice, beans, flour, that kind of thing. It need not be fancy or the best food on Earth, but enough of what people need to keep them alive. And you keep the demand for the service reasonable not by putting in place applications and qualifications, but simply by personal preference. Not many millionaires are going to go down to the depot every month and get their government-issued bag of rice, even if they could if they wanted.
Same thing with housing. There should be state-run dorms or boarding houses in every city in the country. Need a place to stay? Go down to the city dorm. I would build them just like college dorms - small shared rooms with bunk beds and communal cooking/bathing facilities. And anyone, from the richest to the poorest, can stay there if they need to. If Bezos wants to go live in the government dorm, he can. You keep demand for it low, and the cost of providing it reasonable, through personal choice. Most people don't actually want to live their whole life in a dorm room. Keep things clean. Keep them sanitary. But keep them simple and utilitarian.
Even within existing capitalist societies, we can provide for the basics of life for everyone. And instead of putting strict requirements, you open the programs up to all. You keep the demand for the services low by focusing on utilitarian versions of the benefits you provide. Anyone down on their luck can stay in the government dorm if they want, but very few people actually want to unless they really need to.
Not many millionaire are going to go down to the depot every month and get their government-issued bag of rice, even if they could if they wanted.
No but you can guarantee every millionaire and every temporarily embarrassed millionaire will be complaining that they shouldn't have to pay taxes to contribute to that because they don't use it. Just like they do with public housing, public schools, public health care etc.
You public housing concept is a little terrifying, I think it wouldnt be a big step from there to just provide people with a space that is dedicated to them rather than having to share with strangers. The benefits to conflict mitigation would far outweigh the additional cost.
Oh dear lord in heaven, I've apparently become a Dickensian villain...Did I just recreate the poor houses? Oh dear. Yeah, maybe separate rooms are better. There's spartan, and then there's "we built a prison."
Yeah I think it mostly works in colleges because people want to be there. Even then people sometimes get lumped in with some pretty horrific roommates.
UBI is one way to do it, but even direct provision is fine.
UBI is inefficient in a monopoly controlled distribution system, because monopolists will raise prices to absorb the UBI rather than expanding capacity to meet the economic demand. The appeal of direct provisioning is the elimination of waste. You don't have production targeted to the maximal price point, you have it targeted to the social demand.
Not many millionaires are going to go down to the depot every month and get their government-issued bag of rice, even if they could if they wanted.
One of the first rules of being a millionaire is to never spend a penny more than you need to. Idk if they'll go down themselves, but you can guarantee every one of their staff and contracting crew will be pulling out their allotment just so the boss doesn't have to cover this as an expense.
Even within existing capitalist societies, we can provide for the basics of life for everyone.
The fundamental problem with capitalist structures of society is that people in it are going to pursue passive income wherever they can. Staples, being a socially necessary good, are an excellent source of passive income because they've got inelastic demand. You can keep raising the prices on these goods and people won't stop buying them. Middlemen and speculators thrive in this kind of economic environment, unless regulators or public brokers exist to cap their profit-seeking.